Although my good friend and awesome designer Rachel recently decided to give up coffee for THREE WHOLE DAYS!, and I commend her strength and willpower, I am a latte two-times-a-day kind of girl. And I have the quick heart rate and sped-up talk to prove it.

Technical cycling apparel is never mandatory for touring, but it can make the miles go by a little more comfortably. As usual, this year's Interbike show was full of apparel companies showing off a wide range of styles, intended for numerous audiences. Since I prefer to put my money into my bikes and tours, any time I look at clothing I put a strong emphasis on durability. Here are some items that not only function well for touring, but will keep you covered for the long haul.

They are gifts of the road. Nature's snacks ripened just for you. Their aromas fill the hot summer's breezes and the late fall's chill. Roadside trees, far from any home or farm, display these treats more beautifully than any row of sweets in a candy shop. They must have been planted for the benefit of touring cyclists. Why else would their heavily laden branches lean over the road?

Last month, the editor of our Adventure Cyclist magazine took a look at Cateye's INOU, a GPS enabled camera and video recorder that mounts to your helmet or handlebars. I was a big fan of what he had to say about it, so I decided to borrow it for a few rides, and share some of the actual video that comes out of this little guy.

Panniers were everywhere at this year's Interbike show. There were a few new companies to be seen, a couple of veteran companies jumping into the pannier arena for the first time, and a lot of current pannier manufacturers bolstering and fine-tuning their existing supply.

Okay, maybe I can't really call our staff overnight epic (it was only 30 miles each way), but it was epic-ly fun! It was a great chance for everyone to get to ride together, have a look at Paul's hand-made bikepacking setup, and enjoy a lazy afternoon at a time of year when the evenings are still fairly long.

If you're interested in a new touring bike for next year, there's some great news. The pool of available bikes is on the rise! Here's a sampling of four new touring bikes for 2012, aimed at four different styles of touring.